


I believe in fires at midnight

by setmeatopthepyre



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Drummerwolf snuggles, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 15:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13192962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setmeatopthepyre/pseuds/setmeatopthepyre
Summary: "Did you think we didn't know 'bout the most wonderful time of the year, drummer?" Martin had interjected with that easy drawl of his and a mischievous glint in his eye."Yeah," Cross chimed in, elbowing her lightly in the ribs. "We're not savages."The Rowdy 3 show their newest members how they celebrate the holidays.





	I believe in fires at midnight

**Author's Note:**

> Belated Happy Holidays. <3 This is pretty much un-beta'd so let me know if there are any glaring mistakes.

"So do you guys, you know, have any plans for later this month?" Amanda had asked tentatively at some point in early December. She'd just spoken to Todd, who had invited them - all six of them - to the Agency for Christmas. She'd told him she'd suggest it to the rest of the Rowdy 3 but hadn't been sure how to approach the subject, wondering if they even had any concept of holidays at all. It wasn't exactly something that had come up. 

As the rest of the inhabitants of the van stared at her in mild disbelief she'd mentally prepared herself for having to explain everything to a bunch of punks with questionable attention spans, but then Vogel had burst out, "You mean.. like Christmas?"

"Oh," she'd blinked, adjusting her understanding of them a little. "Yeah! Like Christmas. So what-"

"Did you think we didn't know 'bout the most wonderful time of the year, drummer?" Martin had interjected with that easy drawl of his and a mischievous glint in his eye.  
"Yeah," Cross chimed in, elbowing her lightly in the ribs. "We're not savages."  
"Yeah. We know Christmas!" Gripps agreed. Only Beast had remained silent, her gaze switching between them, her expression one of mild confusion. 

Vogel explaining Christmas to Beast was simultaneously one of the funniest and most confusing things Amanda had ever heard. There was many a moment during his animated explanation in which she'd raised her eyebrows at the other Rowdies in silent question. They all just grinned and nodded encouragingly, each offering one-word prompts whenever Vogel seemed to lose track of what he was saying. 

Somehow his explanation managed to combine every single Christmas-related story Amanda knew, plus a whole host of characters she had never even heard of. She could only guess that it was the result of fifteen years of adding on to what might have been one Christmas classic at some point, though there was no way of telling by now what that might have been. If she had to venture a guess it would be Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer but only because that seemed to be Vogel's absolute favourite character.

All in all the result was one rainbow-haired Rowdy completely convinced of the importance of Christmas and the rest of them definitely feeling the holiday spirit. They had all agreed to spend Christmas Day at the Agency, as long as they could celebrate their own way the day before. Whatever that way was.

-

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve the van pulled off a dirt road and into a small clearing in the woods. They had driven most of the way to Seattle that day but if anyone was tired they didn't show it; there was a kind of giddy excitement in the air that reminded Amanda of Christmas mornings with Todd, waiting for their parents to wake up.

Vogel and Beast were out of the van before it had even stopped, leaping off into the treeline together to gather firewood. It was a habit they had quickly adopted after Beast had joined them - she had a knack for finding things and Vogel enjoyed chasing after her and carrying whatever she brought him. Amanda hopped out of the van in time to see Beast already reappearing at the edge of the clearing, bouncing and yelling excitedly. Moments later Vogel appeared beside her, dragging along a dead pine tree that had to have been at least three times as tall as he was. 

"Guys! Hey guys! There's a buncha trees here!"

"It's all trees!" Cross yelled back, but he was already making his way over. He slung an arm around Amanda's shoulders and dragged her along. "Into the woods we go, drummer! Let's look at the trees!"

Vogel had been right. There were a bunch of dead pines grouped together not far from the clearing. Most of them were still rooted firmly in the ground, their red needles making them stick out like sore thumbs, but a few had fallen over and would make excellent bonfire material. Amanda picked one and kicked at the snapped trunk, separating it from the ground completely and sending wood chips flying in all directions. With a little help from the others she dragged the tree into the clearing and went back for more. 

"We could've used your help, you know." Amanda pointed out when the four of them returned to the van. Martin had arranged the car seats into a semi-circle right outside. 

Martin smiled from his seat. "Looked like you had it under control."

"What were you up to, anyway? Where's Gripps?"

He just shrugged at her, eyebrows raised, but his mock innocence quickly made way for a grin when he saw her expression. He knew very well that Amanda preferred to know everything. 

"Nothin' to worry 'bout, drummer. You'll see."

Gripps appeared from inside the van and enveloped her in a hug before steering her towards the pile of dead trees where Vogel and Cross and Beast were clearing the area that would house their bonfire. "You ready for the party?"

"Yeah -" she glanced over her shoulder at Martin, who was still perched on his seat in front of the van. He shot her a wolfish grin. "Yeah. So, what are we drinking?"

They got the fire going with practiced efficiency. Cross and Gripps started it small with twigs and branches while Vogel danced off to the side holding the first tree. As soon as they stood up and nodded at him a huge grin unfurled on their youngest brother's face. With a theatrical flourish Vogel deposited the heap of dry wood onto the fire, which crackled and popped and sent sparks flying into the air. When the whole thing burst into flames all six of the Rowdy 3 let out loud whoops and howls and cheers while the fire lit up their faces with a warm glow.

"Alright, Beastie! Drummer! First ones are for you!"  
Cross held out a cracked mug for Amanda after he'd made sure Beast didn't try drinking the contents of hers in one go. Whatever had been brewing in the cans by the fire was steaming hot and smelled amazing.   
Amanda accepted the cup gratefully. She had been watching for over twenty minutes as Gripps had first procured a surprising array of spices that she had never seen before from inside the van and had handed them over, almost reverently, to Cross, who had then spent a long time adding and stirring and tasting and asking for everyone's opinions - except Amanda's and Beast's. They only got to taste it once it was perfect, Vogel had explained excitedly. They were taking this whole thing a lot more seriously than she had expected them to.

It was worth the wait. Despite the whole spiced cider recipe presumably relying on a lot of taste tests, Cross obviously knew what he was doing. Amanda sipped the hot liquid happily and smiled, relishing its warmth, then realized everyone was looking at her expectantly. 

"Huh? Oh! This is delicious. Easily the best spiced cider I've ever had."

"Da BES!" Beast agreed, clutching her own mug close. 

The fire illuminated a full circle of happy grins and Amanda marveled once more at the crazy year she'd had. From hermit with no friends to.. whatever this weird-ass crazy family was. 

Martin caught her eye and patted the space next to him. She sat beside him, pulling her knees up to her chest, her hands with the mug resting on top of them. He reached back and, a moment later, draped a blanket over her shoulders. She tilted her head to smile her thanks at him and was met with clear blue eyes smiling back as the flames danced on his glasses. 

Home.

That's what this was.

-

"PRESENTS TIME!"

Amanda nearly dropped her mug and realized she'd been dozing off on Martin's shoulder. Honestly though, who could blame her? His arm was warm around her and the fire was so cozy. She didn't feel compelled to move at all, but she didn't really have a choice. Not with Vogel jumping up and down right in front of them. 

"Vogel." 

With her head still on his shoulder she could hear Martin's voice rumble pleasantly.

"Yeah boss?"

"How 'bout you grab the presents?"

She could feel him pull her a little closer as Vogel set off on his task. 

There was no stopping Vogel, though. Not when he had set his mind to something. He was back within moments, but there was something odd in the way he moved - it was careful, deliberate. 

Martin removed his arm and was on his feet immediately.

"What's wrong?" Gripps asked as both he and Cross stood up as well, moving cautiously towards Vogel who, Amanda saw, was carrying a single present in his arms and staring down at it with an odd expression. 

"Wazdat?" Beast was moving in closer now too and Amanda stood up to see what all the fuss was about.   
On top of the single, crudely wrapped lump of a present rested an odd pile of black fur. 

"It's a kitty." whispered Vogel.   
As if on cue the small black cat raised its head and mewed at its onlookers. 

"Sorta," Martin frowned, sniffing. 

"It musta been cold," Cross suggested.

"The van is warmer." Gripps agreed. 

"We should close the door to keep it warm in there." Amanda said and Gripps moved immediately to do so. He came back with the rest of the presents - an armful of lumps in different shapes and sizes, all wrapped differently. 

"What about the kitty?" Vogel asked quietly, still holding up the present with the kitten on it as if he were presenting a gift to a king. 

"Here." Cross zipped open his jacket most of the way and gently lifted the sleepy ball of fur off its makeshift pillow and guided it into his inside pocket. The kitten complied, seemingly completely content with its current situation. Once the little animal was comfortable Cross zipped up his jacket again so that only the kitten's head was sticking out. Moments later a soft purr was audible over the crackle of the fire. 

Everyone seemed to relax a little and took up their spots by the fire once more. Gripps tossed everyone their presents, checking occasionally when the handwriting on a package was indecipherable. Amanda grinned as everyone immediately donned the scarves she'd knitted them. It was a skill she'd picked up the basics of a long time ago and never really used, but she could still do rectangles which meant she could still make scarves. Even if they were a little uneven. Not that her little family seemed to mind, though. She was thanked with enthusiastic hugs by everyone except Cross, who gave her a grin and a very careful side-hug in order to avoid squishing the cat. 

The presents she received did not disappoint either. From Beast, a beautiful shining rock that contained a myriad of colors when held up to the light. From Vogel a bright assortment of pins, some of them adorned with middle fingers and phrases like 'fuck off' that made her grin wide. Her favorites were three that formed a set - a tiny drum set with two matching drumsticks. Cross got her a fivepack of her favorite beers, the sixth one mysteriously missing. From Martin she received a small ziplock bag whose contents shimmered and sparkled in the firelight. For a confused second she thought he'd gotten her diamonds or jewelry of some kind, but it was far better. 

"They're for on your jacket," he murmured as he leaned in and shook a few of the shimmering silver spikes, showing her how it split up in two parts that could be punched through fabric. 

She pulled him in close for a hug and looked happily at her collection of gifts. There was nothing that she wasn't genuinely glad to receive, though she supposed living in close quarters meant they knew her fairly well. There was just one gift left, addressed to both her and Beast, and it was the lumpy package that the kitten had been napping on before. 

"Open it!" Vogel said, practically vibrating where he sat, looking excitedly from Amanda to Beast to Gripps and back. 

Amanda turned the lumpy package over in her hands, then offered it to Beast. Beast shook her head and pointed at her. 

"Openit!"

"Ok, chill! I'm opening it!" 

Unpacking the lump didn't make it any clearer what she was looking at. It wasn't until she shook out its contents that she realized she was holding two equally lumpy sweaters. One of them was gray with rainbow details and the other was gray with bright purple and blue details. 

"That's for her," Gripps clarified unnecessarily, pointing at the rainbow one. Amanda tossed it over with a grin and then held up her own sweater. 

"Gripps, this is beautiful," she managed, amazed. Despite its lumpiness it was really very well done, and looked to be knitted.

"Gripps, you asshole, you made this?"

He grinned and nodded.

"You watched me make those terrible scarves and didn't mention you can knit? When did you even make these?"

His grin just widened and the rest of the Rowdies cackled gleefully. 

Apparently every single one of them had a hand-made sweater. How she'd missed them Amanda had no idea, but Martin left her side to rummage around in the van and returned with an armful. He handed them out to their owners and then pulled on his own, looking extra cozy and festive with that extra layer of lumpy wool. 

As the festivities resumed, Amanda couldn't help snuggle up close to his now extra soft warmth.

\- 

By the end of the night, when the last tree had been burned to ash on the bonfire, they all made their way to the van. Martin held out an arm to keep Vogel from opening the door and ushered Amanda and Beast to the front instead. Frowning, Amanda watched Beast open the door.

Her jaw dropped.

The inside of the van was absolutely covered in little decorative lights. The whole interior glowed as if it housed a million fireflies and it looked absolutely magical. Even Beast was speechless. 

Gripps broke the silence. "That smells good."

Vogel nodded. 

"Yeah," Cross agreed, pointing at both of the newest Rowdies. "Happy."

Amanda ducked her head, unable to hide the huge grin on her face, and carefully punched his shoulder.

"Well of course, you dorks. You can't just make shit magical and expect us not to be happy."

They all piled into the van together, a mess of sweaters and blankets and fairy lights and wide, sleepy smiles. The kitten managed to escape Cross' jacket just in time to avoid being flattened after Vogel declared it time for a group hug. 

\- 

"Hey," Amanda whispered when they'd all settled down. The deep breaths and snores around her told her most of the van's occupants were already asleep. 

"Hm?" Martin rumbled beside her, shifting to look at her. 

"Merry Christmas."


End file.
